


The Hell You Know vs the Hell You Don't

by Jkitty_trashcrash



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: I don't know how to add trigger warnings????, It starts at the end of summer, Let's try writing fanfiction again., Like seriously it's almost ooc, Max is Salty, Max shows emotion, On Hiatus, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possibly neglectful parents, how do you do tags?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-02-07 07:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12835929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jkitty_trashcrash/pseuds/Jkitty_trashcrash
Summary: "Max was always the forgotten child. Got the worst presents on Christmas and got shipped off to camp, against his will. He wasn't among the youthful blabbering toddlers whose every action was praised. And he wasn't included with the blooming teenagers as the object in question with distant relatives. He, was Max, the kid dubbed "The Problem Child" by his parents and relatives. "Aka:I write about Max's family because I'm partially tired of him having an abusive family and I needed something fresh.(Currently on Hiatus because my punk ass has no idea what to do with this fic)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking on my first fic on Ao3! (technically not my first but we aren't going to talk about that). 
> 
> Before I get started I'd like to thank a good buddy of mine for editing this fic! He honestly made it alot better than the first draft and made sure I used comas. 
> 
> This was based on a Headcannon that I had about Max having a big family instead of being an only child in a negligent household. And my own personal want to see a fic that embraced that idea! 
> 
> Without further rambling! Enjoy!

Max was always the forgotten child. Got the worst presents on Christmas and got shipped off to camp, against his will. He wasn't among the youthful blabbering toddlers whose every action was praised. And he wasn't included with the blooming teenagers as the object in question with distant relatives. He, was Max, the kid dubbed "The Problem Child" by his perents and relatives.

 

In a sense, camp was more of the same. He wasn't a brainless excuse for human spawn needing to be coddled. And he wasn't someone with skills that impressed anyone. But camp was different. At camp people cared. If he was under the weather, someone would ask if he needed anything. If he was hurt someone would ask him if he was okay. He was Max, everyone's collective pain in the side. So why did he hate it so much?

 

Today was the day everyone went home. He knew it was inevitable. It had happened every year since he started coming to Camp Campbell. The morning started as usual with David announcing the presence of a new day to the entire camp and personally coming to tents to encourage kids to get up. Max was already awake, staring at the roof of his shared tent blankly.

 

David opened the front of the tent hastily, beaming. "Wake up you two! We have some special last day activities planned and you won't want to miss them!"

 

"I beg to differ," Max grumbled not moving from his position. Neil stirred on the other side of the tent,clearly irritated at the prospect of waking up.

 

"Aww Max. Look, I know last days are hard but it's gonna be great! C'mon!" David motioned for Max to join him. The boy scowled and stood his ground, sitting up. David stood there for a moment hoping Max would get up before giving up. Max flipped him the bird. David resigned and strutted to the next campers to annoy.

 

Neil sat up with a yawn and glared at the exit to the tent. "Is that a normal amount of excited, or is he actually more happy today than usual?"

 

"Maybe he's releived that today he's rid of us until next summer," Max rolled his eyes and swiveled so that his legs hung off his cot. Neil shrugged.

 

"Ehhh, David isn't the type to get excited about that. So are you excited to go home?" Neil rubbed his eyes and watched Max.

 

Max had pulled out his bag from under his cot and started packing up, shoving his many hoodies and shirts in. "Thrilled," he said sarcasticly, eyeing Mr.Honeynuts before placing him in the bag and zipping it up. "You?"

 

"More or less," Neil started packing up his own stuff slowly, "I think I might actually miss it here, though using some real equipment will be refreshing."

 

Max slung his bag over his shoulder and watched Neil pack. His eyes glossed over in thought as he emptily watched Neil. He hated to admit he probably would miss it too. This year he actually made friends, he occasionally enjoyed the activities! Despite how much he hated David, he felt like the man was more of a dad to him than a simple councilor.

 

"Ready?" Neil asked a rather dazed Max. Max blinked out of his thoughts and got up, nodding.

 

"As I'll ever be,"

 

\------------

 

The Mess Hall was full of the sweet aroma of homemade pancakes and the sound of kids talking about what they would do when they got home. Max and Neil approached the counter where they usually were served food and looked in seeing Gwen flipping pancakes on to paper plates. Max knew she had done this this every year on the last day since she was hired, but Neil appeared to be shocked to see her at work.

 

"Good morning," she greeted them with a blank face and a monotonous tone, placing a plate with a stack of two pancakes on the counter. Neil grabbed it slowly and walked off. Max leaned on the wall next to the counter and watched Gwen pour more batter into the pan.

 

"How many years has it been now? That you've come to camp," Gwen asked her audience of one.

 

"Too damn many," Max stated, punctuating the sentence with a chuckle.

 

"So... Three?" She joked flipping the pancake to reveal it was golden brown. Max rolled his eyes.

 

"Four actually," Max corrected, "I remember the year you were hired. I thought you wouldn't stay long, but, well here you are." Max had a certain tone in his voice. A tone that was unusual for the jaded kid.

 

"Really?" Gwen asked, sliding the pancake she was working on onto a plate. She thought for a second. "Now that I think about it... Didn't you make the person that used to have my job quit?"

 

Max laughed slightly and nodded, "Karla was fucking nuts, she quit when I 'accidentally' got gorilla glue in her hair. I'm pretty sure David forgot she ever existed." Gwen returned some laughter and poured the next pancake. "Speaking of David, where is he?"

 

"He's probably finishing up the sappy presentation he has planned for tonight," Gwen stated bluntly. Max nodded. "There's already some pancakes done by the way you don't need to wait." Max looked over to the far side of the counter to see a pile of pancakes already prepared. He grabbed them and walked off.

 

\-------

 

The day went just as Max had thought, each camper was tasked to make a short verbal  presentation about what they did at camp Campbell and at least 3 things they learned. After lunch they got a free hour while David set up the mess hall for whatever he had planned. After that they were all rounded up and brought into the Mess Hall where chairs were set up in rows for the campers. They endured David's painfully cliché end of summer speech and then sat through everyone else's presentations. Even Gwen said a few words. Max fought with David about going up before he gave in and gave a brief speech about how camp fucking sucked. David looked dissapointed.

 

As all of the campers filed out of the mess hall one by one, they were given small labeled brown paper bags full of small candies and knickknacks individualized for each camper. Then, it was the time Max dreaded. The pickup.

 

 The first wave of parents took the majority of the kids, David giving polite goodbyes to the kids and told their families that they had a great time. Then slowly everyone else was taken home leaving Max alone sitting with his bag.

 

David approached him and sat down next to him. "Are they late again?" He asked as if it weren't obvious.

 

"No shit," Max deadpanned looking off along the road leading up to camp. David let a silence settle between them.

 

"You know, I really do think this year was the best," David nudged the boy next to him with a genuine smile. Max made a snorting noise. "I'm happy you met Nikki and Neil, and that you all became friends. Gwen thought you were incapable of friendship but I held out the hope and now you have not one, not three but two new friends. And I have to give you guys kudos for all the unique ways you tried my patience this year. Beetles in my socks, who would have guessed! It's rather impressive actually." David laughed, "I know it's not how you would have liked your summer to go, and I'm still pretty sure you would prefer me dead than rambling but... I enjoyed your company this summer! I don't think you'll admit it but I saw that you come out of your shell a bit this year too, despite how vulnerable it might have made you. I'm pretty sure no one would have guessed you had a Teddy Bear! Not even me and I've known you for a pretty long time. You've really grown as a person these past few months. I can't say I'm surprised but it does make me happy to see you evolve and I look forward so seeing what happens next year!" 

 

"Max?" David looked down at the boy next to him who was sniffling and visibly starting to cry. He didn't want to go home. He was sad camp was over. The years before he was indifferent about going home. It was one hell to another but something about this year was different. He avoided eye contact with David before quickly wrapping his arms around the pine scented man, tightly. David was shocked, at first by the fact Max was hugging him and then by how he wasn't letting go.

 

"I'm going to miss you, you tree loving fuck," Max's voice was muffled as he buried his face in David's chest. David smiled and gently returned the hug.

 

"I'm going to miss you too Max," he smiled, it was smaller than his usual smile, more timid. Despite that, it seemed to be more genuine. Alas, this happy moment was interrupted by the dreaded sound of wheels on gravel could be heard getting ever closer. Max detached himself from David and sighed.

 

Max's usual face was returning, as he look at the car coming down the dirt road, it was his oldest brothers car. He sighed and stood up. David stood with him.

 

"Max, I have one more thing for you," David fished into one of his pockets and pulled something out. Max cocked an eyebrow. David offered his closed fist to Max and the boy held out his hands. A small patch fell into his hands. Upon closer inspection it seemed to be a patch identical to the one that hung from the camp car's rear veiw mirror. "I think you've earned it," David smiled. Max looked at the patch in his hand before curling his fingers around it and shoving his hand in his hoodie pocket.

 

"Thanks," Max watched as the approaching car skidded to a halt near them. "There's my ride," Max stated, flashing David a small smile.

 

"See you next summer Max," David said fondly, as he watched Max walk in the direction of the car. David didn't know what he expected to see when Max was picked up. He never really expected more than that someone would pick him up. But as he watched the boy get in the car he felt a knife of sadness poking into his heart.

 

"So, Mom couldn't even bother to pick me up herself this year? We've stooped to an all time low," Max huffed, faking being impressed, as he climbed into the car.

 

"That's not the greeting I expected," Max's brother commented, half laughing. Max rolled his eyes. "How was camp?"

 

"It was fucking camp Michael, what do you think," Max snarled, leaning against his window. "It was awful," Max watched as the place in question slowly started to get smaller and smaller, David's grinning face and wave made leaving feel all the more sickening.

 

"You don't need to be rude about it," Micheal commented watching the road. Silence fell over the car. "Are you mad that mom or dad-"

 

"Don't you mean the dickbag we call Dad because our real dad left after I decided to exist?" Max snarled. Micheal paused.

 

"I was asking if you were dissapointed mom didn't come to pick you up this year" Michael continued. Max huffed.

 

"It's not like she ever wants to pick me up anyway..." Max sneered, sinking so far into his seat he could barely see the windshield. "I'm sure if she could leave me there she would."

 

"I get if you're upset about it, but you know Mom would never do that Max," Micheal defended. Max scoffed. "If you need an explanation mom is-"

 

"Pregnant with another goddamn kid," Max rolled his eyes. "I happened to notice."

 

"She went into labor earlier this afternoon..." Michael added, "that's why I was late..." Max started giving his brother the silent treatment then and there. It was going to be a very long car ride.

 

After half an hour Micheal piped up. "Are you mad at me?" Max didn't answer for a second.

 

"No..." Max sounded defeated as he watched the trees fly by, "I'm not mad at you."

 

Micheal paused to think for a second. "If it makes you any happier I'm mad at mom too," he comforted. Max sighed. The silence between them steadily grew. "Hey, if you don't want to talk about it can I put on my music?"

 

"I don't fucking care, it's your car," Max snapped. Within a few moments a tape was clicked in and the speakers started blasting 80's-early 2000's pop music. Max settled into his seat and watched as the lush forest turned into a concrete jungle. The sun slowly falling. Max quickly fell off the conscious plane.

 

\------

 

Max woke to his shoulder being jostled, presumably by his brother. He blinked a few times and looked out the window. He was back in his neighborhood, parked outside his house. "We're home." Max sighed and grabbed his bag from the floor.

 

"While you were asleep I talked with dad-" Micheal hesitated remembering Max's earlier comment, "and he said that mom's probably going to be home around dinner time."

 

"Got it," Max acknowledged bitterly, swinging his door open and sulking out of the car. They walked up to the house and Michael opened the front door cautiously, hearing the chaos inside. Max peeked in to see his little sisters playing with dolls smack dab in the middle of the hallway and a toy being launched from the furthest doorway.

 

"Max is back," Michael called from the doorway, the kid in question sinking at the announcement. The two girls in the hall looked up and frowned. 

 

"Nice to see you two fucks again," Max said as Michael then dragged him in and closed the door.

 

"I need to work on dinner, but if you want to come help after you put down your bag your more than welcome," Michael smiled. Max never really liked Michael but he was the only one of his siblings that didn't avoid him like the plague. Excluding their step siblings, they were the oldest of their moms kids. So in a way they stuck together.

 

Max shrugged and started walking to his room, he was thankful he didn't have to share a room with any of his siblings but sometimes it did feel a little lonely. He opened the door to his room and walked in. It was akin to a large closet in size, barely fitting his bed. He placed down his bag and flopped on the mattress. As he reflected on his summer for a solid minute and found himself tearing up. He missed the open space, the people who he came to know, his quirky councilors, a small part of him missed the Quarter Master but he quickly dismissed the thought of the bogus old man.

 

He exhaled and wiped tears from his face, three months of camp seemed godly compared to nine months at home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max's mom comes home and he could fucking care less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a bit shorter and a little bit worse than the first one but I didn't want to rush into any of the things I have planned. So you get some vague descriptions of his family members and his older brother being a sweetie. 
> 
> Yay.

"Max?"

Max blinked awake, not realizing he had even fallen asleep, the light poring in from his doorway stung his tired eyes. He could faintly make out his brother's silhouette.

"Mom, just got back," Michael's voice was low but sweet. Max sat up and rubbed his eyes. Smiling Michael waved for Max to join him. "I'm almost done with dinner too," Max followed his brother on sleepy legs, getting a loving Pat on his shoulder. his face fell into it's common scowl naturally.

They entered the living room, a small crowd of kids gathered around what Max assumed was his mother. His step dad sat on the arm of the sofa watching the kids like a hawk. "Took a sec but I woke this angry weirdo, camp must have burnt him out this year," Micheal announced with a loving chuckle. The small crowd of kids turned to face their brother, all of their glowing excited smiles fading into scowls. He couldn't even see his mother and his newest sibling from where he was. Not that he wanted to see the mewling worm anyway. He rolled his eyes.

"How about I help you with dinner," Max offered up a fake smile with his services and ignored the fact his siblings held their breath as they awaited Michael's responce.

"Sure," Michael seemed oblivious to the sigh of relief his family gave out at his answer, as Max sunk into his hoodie. He did feel mad, it just stung. He walked with his brother to the kitchen and and kept at his side as they washed their hands. Max hated to admit he liked cooking, it was one of the few things he enjoyed.

"So... What's the menu?" Max yawned walking towards the stove that he barely exceeded in height.

"Carbonara, chicken nuggets and broccoli," Michael stated bluntly. Stirring what was in the pot, most likely pasta by his description of the meal.

"Like those cheesy bacon noodles?" Max cocked an eyebrow. Michael nodded and continued stirring.

"Yep! Can you check the chicken nuggets?" Michael tapped the oven with his finger. Max nodded. 

\---

Dinner was quickly done and Max brought all the plates to the table. He forgot how big his family table was as he placed plates around it. It was easy forget they were even his family. Michael called everyone in to the dinning room and Max watched his sister's running in followed by his step brother and finally his step sister and his mother. Him and his mother made eye contact for a few seconds before she walked over, whispering something to his step sister.

His mother hugged him briefly. "Sorry for-"

Max shoved away, "it's fine mom, really." It was nearly obvious that it wasn't okay but his mother seemed to ignore it.

"I just know it's usually our thing, driving home from camp,-" she joked, nothing about her tone seemed genuine. 

"The camp your force me to go to? It's honestly fine mom, I didn't expect you to come this year anyway," the last part was true. He didn't honestly expect his mother to show this year. His mom frowned in annoyance and defeat.

"MOOOOOOOOMMMMM!" One of the brats yelled from the table. The two little girls seemed to be fighting with one another. Max's mother quickly deverted her attention to the kids and walked over. The "Man of the House" then came in making his presence known.

"Now now, don't be giving Mom too much stress now," his voice made Max cringe, the fake sweetness in his voice was enough to make a cup full of water and Splenda look bitter.

Max rolled his eyes as he watched his family settle into their seats, huffing. He left the room and walked into the kitchen to grab the plate he had set aside for himself earlier. Michael was cleaning up and noticed his brother enter.

"You should sit with us tonight!" Michael smiled. Max rolled his eyes and grabbed his plate.

"No thanks, I don't need to hear those little shits complain about how I must have poisoned their plate," Max started walking out, shoving a bite of broccoli in his mouth.

"C'mon it's your first night back I'm sure everyone wants to hear about your summer! I know I'm curious," Micheal advertised, beaming.

Max gave a dull glare towards his brother and swallowed what he was eating. "I appreciate that you care but they don't," Max sneered, "mom has a new baby and I'm not going to try and get the spotlight off of it. I'll just be shooed out of the conversation. I'm just going to excuse myself." Michael frowned but let his brother walk away.

Michael grabbed his own plate and walked into the dining room, sitting down at his usual seat near the head of the table. Idle chatter filled the table, talk of work, the news, and other banter. Michael ate in silence for a bit, feeling defeated.

Slowly kids starting anxiously shifting in theirs seats indicating that they were done eating and were quickly getting bored.

"How about dessert?" The Man of the House smiled and pulled his wife close, rubbing her shoulder. She giggled slightly. The children gave overwhelming agreement and Michael stood up knowing he was going to be the one to get it.

His step dad told him to sit down and finish eating, with a smile. Michael complied slowly.

\---

Max sat in his room, his plate sat on the other side of his bed, nearly untouched as he listened to the sounds of his family enjoying dinner. He knew he didn't want to be out there but he didn't want to be alone in here either. His mind drifted back to camp again. Often he would sit with Nikki and Neil at dinner, not really eating but just enjoying their company and the fact they could talk with one another. He sighed and leaned on the wall, looking at the plate of food. He would put that in the fridge when he knew the kids were all being sent to bed.

"Wonder what we're doing tomorrow," he asked himself coldly. He knew he had at least 2 weeks before school starts and without camp activities he would probably bored out of his mind. Because at home there was no David to annoy, no fellow campers to pick on, no Gwen to make bend over backwards. No, anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was fun wasn't it? Well thanks for reading the second chapter of this funky little fic. I'm going to write more but I don't really know where the story is going so... If anyone has suggestions for things you want to see happen I'm open for that kind of stuff! 
> 
> I'm gonna try to write another chapter by Sunday so... See ya then?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the unnamed step father enters and Max shares some coffee with his brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to continue making myself wait to make the fic angsty and just develop a little more before I hit ya hard. 
> 
> I'm pretty happy with this chapter and it's kinda short, but I hope you guys enjoy!

*c l i c k* 

The sound of the coffee pot whirring to life was comforting as Max slowly left the kitchen, padding into the living room. The windows displayed a light navy blue color and the whole living room was of a similar hue. It was chilly but also calming, the sight of the family room so calm and stagnate. Moments of just breathing in the atmosphere and being too tired to think much of it passed. He didn't realize how long he had been staring until the dripping sound of the coffee pot stopped and the living room was drenched in warmth and light. 

The sound of feet approached. A shiver ran down his spine as a, large, almost hot, hand was placed on his shoulder. He tensed. 

"Your up early, squirt," Max didn't turn to face the origin of the voice. "Camp train you to get up early?" The Masculine chuckle was a dead give away. "And you made coffee, you're a totally new kid." Max squirmed away from the contact and sneered down at the floor.

"Mind your own damn business! For your information nothing has changed except my ability to make my own ground bean juice, I still hate you" Max gritted his teeth. The man's hand replaced itself of Max's shoulder and gripped lightly. 

"No need to get hostile with me now Maxwell," the mans tone shifted and went from warm and cheery to darker and more... Uncomfortable. Max bit his lip.

"Either way, what do you care what I did at camp?" Max hid the slight stutter in his voice as he continued, trying his best to sound like he didn't hear the last comment.

"Maxwell, as the husband of your lovely mother I am in the position of your father, you should treat me with the appropriate amount of respect for the title," all warmth had left the man's tone and his grip on Max's shoulder tightened. "Maybe your camp wasn't as good as I thought."

"With all do respect-" Max mocked, his voice tried to tremble but he forced it not to, "I've been going to camp for four damn years and from my recollection you've been with my mother since I was what? Two? So every year I come back from camp and I'm the exact same. What makes this year any different? My ass was hauled to the same camp it was a year ago and two years before that. You haven't cared in the past why do you care now! Or do you only talk to me when I'm the only one up-!" Max slowly raised his voice, but he didn't yell. He fought to hide the fact he wasn't confident, and was slightly scared. He refused to show weakness. 

"Quiet would ya!" The man scolded in a whisper-yell. His hand was so firmly clamped on Max's shoulder that Max began to wonder if it would bruise. "I do not CARE what happened at that camp, and I don't CARE about our prior quarrels. This year will be different, and you WILL get better. You will learn to treat me with some fucking dignity okay you little shit? Keep this between us and get off your high horse. Go get your damn coffee before it gets cold." 

Max was shoved away and stumbled. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and he shivered. "Y-Yes sir," he mumbled absently and escaped into the kitchen. The responce usually got him out of trouble with the woodscouts and he prayed it would work with his stepfather, who had gone from a 1 to a 10 in a matter of seconds. He took in deep breaths and stared at the floor to regain composure. He was about to stand up to start preparing his coffee when another presence made itself known. 

"Max?" Micheals confused, and lazy tone was accompanied by a yawn. Max's head shot up and he looked at his brother. "You good there bud?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know," he brushed off nervously. Micheal cocked an eyebrow at his brother. 

"If you say so... Hey, you made coffee?" Max nodded in response.

"I think I made some extra if you want some..." Max deadpanned to the best of his ability. Micheal gave a small smile. 

"I'll take what you don't," Michael walked over to the cabinet and brought down a mug from the top shelf and placed it on the counter before getting another for himself. The mug on the counter had been the one Max preferred when he was home and he smiled weakly at it. "You might want to rinse that... It's a little dusty but I had to put it on the top shelf to make sure the kids didn't break it," Micheal laughed. 

Max washed out the mug, reading the bold text on the face of the mug saying: "This mug holds my sanity," then grabbed the coffee pot to pour himself a cup of the warm liquid. "Thanks." He handed the coffee pot to Michael. 

Michael accepted the coffee pot and served himself some. Max started drinking his coffee. "No sugar, no cream?" Michael asked, returning to coffee pot to the coffee maker. Max nodded and took a big gulp of his beverage. "Suit yourself," Michael shrugged, setting down his mug and walking to the fridge. 

\------ 

After silently sharing coffee in the kitchen for a solid while, Michael piped up. " Mom suggested I take you to buy school clothes soon, so I was wondering if you wanted to do that today or have a day to get used to being home and do it tomorrow," Michael offered with a grin. 

"We should probably get it over with," Max followed his statement with a final gulp from his cup of coffee. 

"So today," Michael confirmed. 

"Yep," Max started rinsing out his mug. 

"Cool, and after we're done we can go get lunch out or something," Micheal beamed and finished up his coffee. 

"Great," Max said sarcasticly. Micheal lightly punched his arm playfully. "Gross feelings," Max couldn't help but laugh to himself.

"Get used to it," Michael pulled his brother into a side hug, "you're gonna be dealing with feelings and me AAAAALLLLLLLL year!" 

"Pfft whatever," Max took his brothers empty mug and rinsed it. That might not be too horrible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was fun! Comment your thoughts and prepare yourself for the next chapter! 
> 
> See ya next time!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a n g s t hits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am to tired to update tags rn but this is the chapter where shit happens. I'm not gonna say too much but there are mentions of like... Blood and stuff. 
> 
> There's also some fluff don't worry ;)

Any second now he would be blinking awake, and everything would be fine. He wouldn't have an air bag smothering him painfully head on, his ears wouldn't be filled with the sound of car horns, ringing and a distant ambulance. He would have nothing but echoes and phantom pains when he woke up. Everything would be fine. It's just a gritty, nightmare.

 

\---- (earlier that day) -----

 

"Michael hurry up! You were the one who wanted to go out today," Max prodded, waiting outside his brothers room.

 

"Correction: it was mom's idea. I'm almost done anyway be patient," Micheals smooth voice was subtly drowned out by the sound of his hoodie being pulled on over his face. The door opened up and Max looked to see his brother in a patch ridden hoodie.

 

"You look like a nerd," Max stated bluntly.

 

"I am a nerd and I'm PROUD of it," Puffing out his chest Michael gave a confident smile. Max rolled his eyes. "Now Mister Impatient, ready to rock and roll out," Michael made finger guns at the door as they approached it.

 

"Fast and painless," Max grumbled, somehow lovingly. Micheal snorted and opened the door.

 

"You boys have fun!" Max's mother called from the dining room, her voice carrying a false upbeat. Her comment sounded like it was more out of politeness than a genuine hope. Michael gently pushed his brother forward.

 

They walked up to the car and the Michael walked first over to the passenger side to unlock it. "Your car is a fucking dinosaur bro," Max commented. Micheal opened the passenger side door with a creak and stood up straight, spinning his keys on his finger.

 

"Its pretty damn cool though, and in great shape," He patted the front of the car and grinned proudly. Max sat in the passenger seat and watched his brother open his side door.

 

As Micheal got comfortable and Max bucked his seat belt, the older boy smiled at the interior of his car. He started it up without a hitch and tapped the radio. Micheals hand wrapped around the thin steering wheel, dating the car a bit.

 

"And this dinosaur has a tape player, that like... works," Michael shuffled through the center console before he removed his hand. "Why don't you pick something? I like everything in there so I don't care what we listen to," Michael beamed at his brother before backing his car from the driveway.

 

Max shrugged and peeked into the center console. A bunch of poorly labeled tapes seemed crammed into the small space and Max picked a random one. The label seemed torn off and Max examined it.

 

"What's this?" He inquired, cocking an eyebrow. Micheal looked over coolly before cracking up laughing.

 

"Some crap me and my friends threw together, it's not really worth it, it's kinda a joke," Michael was beat red and tried just to focus on the road. Max grinned and popped out the tape already in the player and put it in. "Okay so..  so we're doing this?" Micheal chuckled.

 

With a malicious smile Max pressed play. "It can't hurt too much," he chuckled. The tape took a second to start  but instantly Max regretted choosing this one. The upbeat beginning of "Never Gonna Give You Up" started and his mouth went dry.

 

"Fuck go back," Max reached for the dial only to have his hand slapped away by his brother.

 

"We're in this for the long haul bud. You can't quit once you've heard it," Michael smiled devilishly at his brother.

 

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Max slouched in his seat defeated. Glaring daggers back at his brother.

 

"To be honest I have no idea what is on this," Michael chuckled. Max cocked his eyebrow.

 

"Why?" Max squinted at his brother and Michael pursed his lips.

 

"You won't tell Mom?"

 

"Oh this sounds great, deal," with a shit eating grin Max watched his brother.

 

"I was stoned off my ass when me and my buds did this," Michael addmited.

 

"When you put it that way, it sounds pretty lame," dissapointed, Max shrugged.

 

"I just told you I do drugs! That's like the find of the century!"

 

"Your acting like I didn't know you smoke weed," Max chuckled knowingly, "I walked in on you and Je-"

 

"JESUS CHRIST REALLY?" Michael pulled to a stop and looked at his brother with a worried, embarrassed expression.

 

"Yeah, I'm surprised you don't remember," Max shrugged. With a humiliated sigh Michael looked back at the road. "You and me made a deal, mom won't know," Max winked jokingly.

 

"I feel like I don't want to know what the deal was..." Michael pursed his lips and watched the road intensely.

 

"If you don't want to know I won't tell," leaning on his window, Max watched as they left the residential area they lived in and started cursing into town. The only sound in the car was the radio droning the  end of it's song. The next song started and Max instantly burst into laughter.

 

"Really?! Taylor mother-fucking Swift!?" Max wheezed. Micheal snorted when he realized what was playing. "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together" was blasting from the speakers. Michael pinched the bridge of  his nose and frowned, as the sprawling suburbia outside turned into an unforgiving urban jungle.

 

"This is going to be a long car ride..."

 

\-----

 

Some time had passed, they had successfully made it to town and bought not much more than some new jeans and a new t-shirt. The drive home was lazy and the afternoon sun beat down on the car. Max had given up on laughing at every new song that came into the speakers and resigned to just watching outside. It was unbelievable how long it was taking to get home and the cars bustling around had become infuriating. The traffic was a nightmare.

 

The car was at a stop light and Micheal leaned back, relaxing into his seat and watching the traffic meander. He looked over at his brother and shook his shoulder.

 

"Where do you want to stop and eat?" Max shot out of deep thought and looked at his brother. He shrugged.

 

"I don't care," Max leaned back on the door and resumed watching outside. Micheal looked back at the road and pressed the gas lightly.

 

"Well if you don't care, wanna grab something from that small Café near the house? It never disappoints," Micheal offered, looking over to see his brother nod and yawn.

 

"Sounds alright," the traffic seemed to start flowing smoothly again and soon enough they we're home free. The road was still packed sure but it went alot quicker. Max had dozed off, not closing his eyes but not seeming all there either. Michael smiled at his brother briefly before looking back at the road ahead. Just as they pulled up to a red light it changed. With a green and the person parallel next to them not halting, they both continued.

 

Then, in a split second, it everything went to hell. Someone on the intersecting street was trying to run a yellow light when the cars collided. The speeding vehicle smashed into the drivers side and  a disturbing "crunch" was heard. Max had shot out of his trance just seconds before he was pummeled by his airbag slamming into his face. Michael was shoved into him by the oncoming car. Before either one of them did anything else, the passenger side was pressed in as their car hit the one parallel to them.

 

The passenger side window cracked under the stress. Max felt everything compress, and his breathing strain. Every one of his muscles tensed and hurt.

 

Then it all skidded to a halt. Car alarms blaring, and people yelling. Searing pain rung through the ten-year-olds body and his eyes welled with tears. Red liquid flowed down his hoodie like molasses, staining the worn garment. His brother lay motionless and contorted, in ways that aren't humanly possible. Glass shards lacerated his face, making blood look like deep red tears. The sound of an ambulance could be heard briefly before Max's consciousness slowly slipped away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> A moment to give another huge thanks to the bud of mine editing this? Like seriously he's great and made this chapter the best it could be. Bless him for dealing with my sloppy ass late night writing let alone editing it! 
> 
> This chapter is the catalyst for more angst and it's going to spiral out of control. I'm super excited to share more with the people who have been following this and the people who have been finding it! 
> 
> Again Please comment! It really means alot and I can't express how much seeing your feedback has made me want to continue writing and posting this!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first things first: I haven't really updated because school decided to hit me like a train and its been sucky.
> 
> Second: this chapter was weird and kinda hard to write to be honest but with a little help I got it done... Its a little short...
> 
> And finally! I was thinking of renaming the fic, I didn't know where I was going at first but now I do? And the title isn't as fitting... 
> 
> EITHER WAY ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

Max shot up, instantly recoiling in pain as the sling on his right arm caused him to pop his shoulder and his whole chest compressed. Not to mention all the little pains from the rest of everything above the hip and the sting the lights gave his eyes. He leaned back down with a pained groan that hissed through some sort of mask on his face. His eyes closed slowly and an ache made itself known in his body, along with stings on his face and arms. Above all else his chest was pained in more ways than he thought possible. His sternum pulsed with heat as his heart thumped, a sign he was alive but a painful one nonetheless, and every breath that made it to his lungs made them strain and pinch. 

 

What had happened? His brain wracked for answers but came up with nothing but static and fuzz, and somehow gave the sensation of cotton balls rubbing along the inside of his skull, irritating at best. A sharp sound finally began to register from the room around him; A needle-like beeping. The sounds of machines slowly came into focus as well and quickly became annoying. 

 

He sighed painfully and tried to open his eyes again, letting them flutter and adjust.  His gaze was fixed on the ceiling, sharp ivory tiles and bright white light. He wanted to close his eyes again but ended up failing, leaving them half lidded. He looked around the room with his limited vision. Nothing but plain beige walls, boring white trim and those damn lights, until he caught a glimpse of a curtain rod and a pale blue fabric hanging from it. It was to his right and when he scanned to the left he saw the top of a doorframe. 

Soon enough that door frame made a sound and shuffling approached where Max reclined. Nothing hinting to the identity of the person entering came into his field of view. He rethought what he heard and came to the conclusion that maybe it wasn’t just one person. It was probably two. 

"Oh good, you're awake," the voice sounded vaguely familiar, but it had never had this worry or fondness in it. He wished he could see the person's face. Footsteps approached and he heard mechanical whirring. 

"Tell me if this hurts okay?" another voice came in, soft and sweet, nearly motherly.  Max rattled his brain trying to put a face to the voice he heard before. It seemed like it was supposed to be obvious. He felt the bed under him shift upward, and his back pop slightly. He closed his eyes and winced, hissing through his teeth. Suddenly his the speed slowed down as he was propped up. Once he was in a sitting position, he opened his eyes back up looked at the persons who had come in. 

"Gwen?!" Max recoiled at the sound of his own voice, causing a train reaction of pain. When he had spoken his voice resembled someone's who had smoked for years and it down right hurt. It was muffled by the mask over his mouth and nose. He winced and swallowed a firm ball of spit, closing his eyes to reopen them seconds later. Again he took in the sight before him. One of his camp counselors was at his bedside, along with a startled, bright-haired nurse, pressing a clipboard against her chest. The fact it was Gwen before him now seemed obvious, she was in a purple hoodie and jeans but it was her. What now rattled in his thoughts was why she of all people was here.

“Yeah… I'm surprised to see you too,” she joked nervously, rubbing the back of her neck, “after what happened I'm glad you’re getting treatment but… Out of context…” Gwen trailed off. Earlier that evening she had been driving home, her first time home since camp ended a day ago, when within seconds three normal cars lay deformed in the middle of the intersection. Normally she would have been irritated about some dumbasses possibly getting killed but this time something was different, she didn't know what it was. But before she knew it she had turned on her blinkers and got out of her car with her cell phone in her hand. 

 

She didn't remember much but she did remember seeing all she blood and a small, contorted but recognizable body. She had called 9-1-1 and when they came they pried everyone out of their cars. And while it was stupid, she could recall getting a certain blue hoodie before first responders cut the already bloodied garment off. They had looked at her liked she was crazy and she gave no explanation. She asked if she could follow. For the drama or if it was for her own care she wanted to see how everything turned out. 

 

Now after hours she was here; checking on the kid who had made her life a living hell for three months prior, looking less like Satan spawn and more like the poor ten year old it was easy to forget he was. His hair was pulled back revealing his face to be covered in different types of bandages and a mask over his mouth and nose. He stood out as tiny against the adult sized bed.

"Well, I have to go attend to other patients,” the nurse interrupted the moment of silence, politeness filling her voice as she walked to the other side of the blue curtain. 

"What happened?" Max rasped out, volume significantly softer. Gwen gave a small confused frown. Max looked at her with an uncharacteristic worry, he was pained in so many ways but managed to muster the energy to not seem as weak as he was. 

"Well umm... From what I've been told and… Well saw… You got in a gnarly car accident," Gwen looked down at her hands like she was reading them and shifted her weight. She pursed her lips nervously. It was clear she was out of her element. If they were at camp she would have been more blunt, less empathetic. But here she didn't know what to do. 

"... Did Michael make it?" Max sounded genuinely... Horrified but didn't seem to direct it anywhere in particular.

"The driver?" Gwen asked, kicking herself for how stupid shw sounded, 

"He's my brother... Is he okay?" Max briefly recalled a snippet from what happened earlier. Micheal had been leaning against him, blood seeping out of cuts littering his face and body. He shivered. Gwen looked down anxiously feeling like she wasn't ment to be here.

"I-... I don't know," she admitted with a frown breaking another pause. Max stared down at his own blanketed form and felt tears well in his eyes, he blinked and tried to prevent them, taking in a sharp breath. His chest throbbed as he held back wanting to cry. Silence fell in the room.

Gwen shifted her weight from foot to foot. She didn't want to leave but it was uncomfortable in here. Thoughts swam in her brain like a fish bowl. Back at camp she never really thought about Max's home-life. Briefly she would ask herself "who the hell raised this thing?!" But never gave it much thought. 

"Does Mom know?" Max asked in an empty monotone.

"Not that I'm aware of?... no one has come to see you yet… Aside from me… This is weird..." Gwen mumbled trailing off. Max closed his eyes and breathed slowly, counting the times he heard the air from his lungs make a noise through a tube near him. 

 

Gwen chewed her lip. "How do you feel?" She questioned. The nurse was about to leave when she looked back over at Max. He parted his lips to speak but was startled by the nurse silently taking the mask off his mouth. She said something along the lines of, ‘you won't be needing this for the time being,’ and walking away. Max opened his eyes and blinked at the nurse a few times before letting his eyelids rest.

"Like shit," Max proceeded, chucking darkly and leaning as far back as he could. Gwen let out a stunted laugh and smiled slightly.

 

“I need to head home… It not even visiting hours but… I uhh... I hope you will feel better,” the end of her phrase felt forced but she couldn't take words back. Max opened his eyes and frowned. He wanted to ask her to stay but she wasn't his mom or a nurse, she was a camp councilor that managed to somehow be there. She has a life or whatever. 

 

“What time is it?” He settled on asking, trying to keep her there a little longer. 

 

“11:40 somthing I think?” Gwen looked down at her phone, frowning momentarily. “Yeah 11:42…” She was clearly reading something other than the time on her phone. “And 5 unread messages from David…” She added under her breath. Max ignored the mention of David and pondered the time and sighed. Knowing it was unlikely for his mom and stepdad to show up. 

 

“Yeah its pretty late… You should probably go home,” he hid his disapointment and watched Gwen type something on her phone. She looked up.

 

“I hope your parents come soon…” She said poliely, trying to muster a reassuring smile. 

 

Max didn't smile in return but mumbled, “see ya Gwen,” with a positive tone. He leaned back trying to relax but his head began to ache again so he didn't look the part. Gwen slowly left the room and closed the door. It was so weird not to be insulted by that kid, but she excused it and started walking down the hall. The sound of yelling slowly came into earshot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet no one expected sudden Gwen! HAH
> 
> I may or may not have direction for the next chapters and stuff. But still do please comment with suggestions! 
> 
> Fun fact in the middle of posting this all the power to my block and a few blocks nearby was completely out... Fun. 
> 
> (And if any one was wondering the texts from David go a little like this(because I'm not gonna add it in the chapters anywhere): 
> 
> David: oh my god, call someone if you just saw a crash! Why are you even texting me while driving?! 
> 
> David: Gwen? Is everything alright? How many people got hurt?
> 
> David: I know you only saw the accident... Please text back... 
> 
> (Time gap)
> 
> David: Gwen?
> 
> David: Are you still going to be able to come back to camp tomorrow to finish clean up? Its getting late and you haven't responded to my messages so I wanted to ask... ) 
> 
> And that concludes this chapter! Leave name suggestions and other suggestions in the comments below! 
> 
> See ya next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait and sorry it's short and... Crappy. 
> 
> I haven't been feeling too hot. I've lost alot of motivation over my winter break...
> 
> I might work on another chapter tonight because I feel hopeless and weird and don't want to sleep.
> 
> I didn't have my buddy look this chapter over because it's like... 2 am and screw quality control at this point. 
> 
> Micheals not dead by the way... He won't die in a physical sense. 
> 
> There's probably some continuity errors or whatever and I'm sorry. But I can assure you guys I now have a story and I hope to wrap it up eventually. 
> 
> Have a good day.

It had been going on for what felt like hours, "it" being the yelling coming from his mother and step father from outside of his hospital room. Max's head felt like it was going to explode if he had to listen to it for another second. The assholes didn't even need to come in the room to infuriate him. Though the arguing was the only thing telling him anything about his brother. Or anything at all for that matter.

"- I SWEAR TO GOD! MY SON IS IN A FUCKING COMA AND YOUR STILL BEING INSENSITIVE AND TELLING ME YOUR PROBLEMS WITH THE GOD DAMN MEDICAL BILLS?!"

"I'm just saying-"

"WHAT IF IT WAS FAE IN THERE? IF YOUR FIRST BORN BABY HAD GOTTEN IN A CRASH AND NOW WAS UNABLE TO MOVE OR SPEAK? HOOKED UP TO MACHINES JUST TO MACHINES TO KEEP HER FRAGILE LIFE TOGETHER BY A THREAD! WOULD YOU CARE ABOUT EXPENSES THEN??"

It just kept going and going. At this point he was wondering how soon they would just be removed from the hospital for disrupting patients. Max looked over at the curtain splitting his room in two.

"Are they annoying you too?" He asked whoever was on the other side of that curtain. No response. Max groaned, he was on the verge of yelling at them to shut the hell up when the conversation came to an abrupt halt. The brief silence was blissful and Max managed a half smile and sigh before having a sudden coughing fit. It was quick but his chest burned and breathing felt a lot harder. No one seemed to notice.

He momentarily wished Gwen would come back, just to have a familiar face before him. He really wished anything other than pain would happen. He shook his head like an Etch-a-Sketch to erase the thought. But it just felt like sand scratched the inside of his skull. 

The door to the room opened and in walked his step father. In a way, he was the last person Max wanted to see right now, but he groaned and prepared himself to entertain the guy. The man's tall frame reached over to one of the visitors chairs and pulled it up to Max's bedside. The atmosphere went from boring to uncomfortable within seconds.

He sat down and looked Max over for a second before they made eye contact. The man made an expression like he didn't expect the Max to be awake while the kid just glared daggers back. The man placed his hand on Max's thigh as if to comfort him, rubbing it slightly with him thumb.

"How ya doing?" He asked, with a sugarcoated tone. Max winced at the pressure being applied to his leg, it was supposed to hurt or... Or something. He remembered when it hurt earlier and wondered if he really felt it at all. He tried to shift his leg but it was unresponsive. 

"Don't touch me," Max snapped out of his thoughts and back at the man before him hostilely, his voice croaking unintentionally. The man's expression got firmer and more offended as he recoiled his hand.

"Woah there, no need to get violent on me," The man chuckled in a forced dad kind of way. Max felt something off about him and instinctively created more distance between them.

"Cut the act, what do you want?" Max hissed, sounding more scared than he intended. Sinking, the man's face went from slightly offended to annoyed and angered.

"Jeez kid, you still don't want to listen to me do you," his voice had deepened. "It seems neither of us want to answer each others questions. Eh?" Dead silence. "No response? That crash must have jostled you good, you're usually so quick witted."

"What do you want?" Max repeated more firmly. 

"Well what I came in here to check up on you, your mother couldn't bare to see her other son after she saw Michael," it was obvious that he was exaggerating. Max's eyes darted around the room momentarily. Something felt wrong and the hair on the back of his neck rose.

"What horrible, macabre thing made mom too scared to fucking see me?" Fishing, max squinted his eyes toward the adult before him. 

After a brief pause the man answered. "Your bother is mangled and comatose. The doctors are surprised he didn't die." Max wasn't satisfied but resigned to not ask anymore. He frowned somberly. 

"Thats horrible-" Without warning, his throat tensed and his mouth went dry, kick starting another hacking fit. Max clutched at his chest with his free hand like it would make it stop. His eyes filling with tears. When his back was patted lightly it some how got worse and he felt like he was coughing up phlegm or something else warm from the back of his throat. 

A minute passed before it died down and Max was left wheezing and breathing slowly, with his eyes locked shut. His throat was raw and his body trembled. The feeling of his step dad's hand on his back returned and stayed there. Despite wanting to protest Max was unable to say anything, he just tried to breathe normally.

He slowly opened his eyes, feeling dizzy. When his fuzzy vision came into focus small spots of red were on the bleach white sheets. He moved his hand from his stomach to his mouth and pulled his fingers away, examining them. Did he just cough up blood? He blinked a few times, remembering he had company. The small circle motions his step dad made with his thumb on the boy's back made Max tense up and shiver.

"I think I should lay down..." Max politely shooed the hand from his back and leaned onto the bed. "But... Can you tell Mom to visit when she can?" He sounded uncharacteristically hopeless as he wheezed out words. He closed his eyes again and hoped when he opened them his step father would be gone.

"If you say so... I'll tell her..." Annoyance lined the man's voice. "Want me to get a nurse?" Max opened his eyes and looked at his step dad. The man's tired eyes seemed worried almost.

"Uh... Yeah sure?" Max gulped down spit to wet his dry throat as he looked up at his step dad. The man let out a grunt before walking out. 

Max let out a breath he didn't know he was holding out and trembled. He attempted to turn to one side to be more comfortable while he waited for a nurse but found his legs didn't respond to all attempts to move them. A shaky sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes and shifted his upper half best he could. Time walked by slowly but after an eternity a nurse walked in with a smile on his face. 

The nurse was gone as soon as they came though, commented on the blood and told Max he needed rest.

The overwhelming quiet was all there was. Max refused to open his eyes. If he pretended he was asleep, maybe he would be. Not even thoughts drifted around his head. Just an undeniable pounding and ache. He was too exausted. Something about this was wearing him down. He tried focusing on his breathing but his mind just drifted back into the fog of pain.

Unconsciously he started to cry. The salty liquid flowing down his cheeks. Everything felt cold around him and everything he felt on the inside burned. He wanted to be anywhere but here. He drifted into what could be interpreted as sleep. 

 

\------ 

It had been weeks from what he could tell, he wasn't awake much, his questions weren't answered and no one from his family cared to visit. It was lonely and depressing. He hadn't eaten much or drank for that matter. Nurses didn't really interact with him. 

Everything sucked. He occasionally wished he could have just died in whatever accident happened. 

The pain didn't go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was pretty bad but thanks for sticking with me for a filler chapter... 
> 
> This might go on hiatus I don't know... 
> 
> Leave a comment, I'll post again when I decide to...


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max has a chat with his mom and that's about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think this is necessarily short? But not much really... Happens. 
> 
> I wanted to get another chapter out before my winter break was over so that's what we have here. Expect the next chapter to come soon and for it to be a little more of a summary because if I did chapters like this for every time he was awake during his stay in the hospital the story would never progress. 
> 
> Either way o Happ you enjoy!

Max had no idea how long it had been, night and day seemed to blur together as did time in general. His coughing fits became less frequent but more painful and he still hadn't seen practically anyone in who knows how long. 

He blinked from another dreamless sleep hearing something stir in the room. The door opened and, after a brief moment of hope, he pouted slightly. It was a nurse just checking on vitals or something. 

"Hello Beatrice," he scowled. She looked at him with pitty. 

"Hello Max," she sighed, looking back toward her clipboard and scratching information down. 

"Do they know what's wrong with me yet? Or do they still not want me to know because 'my parents need to tell me'" he added a mocking tone into the mix. It was clear he was trying to put on a tough facade. Beatrice sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

"Max I'm gonna be honest with you-" 

"Well I sure hope you're being honest... Continue" Beatrice wrinkled her nose and let out an exhale. 

"You know you're a real jerk right?" She hissed avoiding eye contact. 

"My parents let me know daily when they didn't have to drive to see me. Have they even tried to see me or Michael?" Max snapped. 

"Look I'm just trying to do my job kid..." With another puff of air leaving her lungs she looked at him again. "They've been with your brother and usually stay 'til visiting hours end..." Max felt a bitter taste in his mouth and he pouted. 

"I guess they would care about him... Even if he's not awake to talk to..." He sighed. "I'm sorry for snapping." Beatrice gulped. 

"It's okay kid..." Swiveling on her heels she started walking out. 

"Can't you stay a little longer?" Max begged. He wasn't out to impress anyone so he let his guard down. Beatrice looked back at him and frowned. 

"I have no reason too," opening the door, Beatrice stated bluntly. As she opened it one of her co workers bumped into her. 

"Vistor," the young man said. 

"For him?" Beatrice asked with bewildered amusement, starting to walk past her co worker. 

"He's the only one in this room," he stated back before entering the doorway. Max chuckled to himself. This was the most action that door had gotten in awhile it must be happy as a door can be. 

"You have a visitor-" 

"I heard, is it death finally coming to take me away?" Max half joked, earning a dissapointed frown from the man in the doorway. He moved aside to let someone walk in. Max didn't know what he was expecting. 

Max's mother walked in, biting her lip. "Hey sweetie!" Max glared at her with a calloused scowl. 

"So she showed up," he mumbled sitting up. The woman stepped closer to him. His comment made her deflate slightly, rubbing her arm. They sat in silence for a second. "How is everything?" He asked dully. His mother avoided all eye contact and stared at the floor. 

"It's fine..." She gulped. 

"Can you finally tell me what's wrong with me? Because no one has fucking told me yet-" dim aggression filled his tone as he glared towards his mother who seemed stiff and wiped tears from her eyes. 

"You got in a car crash...-" her voice came out broken and she hiccuped a little.

"I know that! Why can't I move or feel my legs? Why I always have a headache? Why no one will give me updates on my brother? Why you haven't bothered to fucking see me?! Where you've been?!" He slowly built to a yell and his mother shook. He didn't understand why she was getting emotional, it certainly wasn't over him. 

"Max it's been so hard-" she was playing a pitty card, she looked up and sniffled. Giving puppy eyes to her son. 

"No one has been here for me in what feels like weeks! The first person I saw when I woke up was my camp counselor who showed up because she wanted to see if I was okay! Not my mother who literally brought me into this world and legally is accountable for me! And when I saw 'family' it was the asshole you call a husband!" Max screamed voice slowly degrading into cries. His mother broke into sobs and cupped her eyes. Max heaved for air and glared at her before his features softened. His chest was tightening and he felt like it was burning. This was the most and loudest he had spoken in days. 

He sighed. Melting from his defensive stance and sniffling. He didn't realize he was crying until he wiped tears away. His mother was wailing. Max shifted uncomfortably under the weight of silence. 

"Mom..." Max sighed, he wasn't going to apologize but he had to say something, "I'm angry... I'm sure you know that now..." Max felt a lump form in his throat, "why didn't you come?" That question crumbled from his lungs and his throat made it crackle and croak. He was exausted and his guard fell down. "Were you scared? Did you not want to see me? Did you not care? Do you just care about him mor-"

"Because I didn't want to see my baby hurt," after years of knowing her Max knew her tell for lying. And she was. 

"That's a lie," Max snapped. With an expression that only read "caught red handed", Max's mother began defending herself. 

"Max your brother nearly died!" She pleaded. 

"You know I was in the same crash? You should tell me something I don't know!" Max averted his eyes and sucked snot in through his nose. His mother was silent as she stared at her son. 

"Max..." She moved a hand to touch his shoulder and he jerked away at the first contact. "What's this about?" Her voice had quickly shifted from pitty to offence.

"I knew you didn't care about me-" Max started, shaking his head slowly. 

"I do care about you!-" his mother interrupted. Max nearly cut her off there and told her to leave him alone but he bit his tongue and huffed. 

"Let me finish would ya?" Max spat with an accompanying sidelong glare. Silence. "I knew you didn't care about me, but I thought if something like this happened you would be a little more supportive or something." His chest was constricting and begging him to take a minute to just breathe normally. "I aways thought something like this would change your amount of caring. But I stand corrected. You still don't care and you're just going to say the bare minimum to be polite. I'm guessing someone made you come see me it wasn't your choi-" Max choked on something burning and bubbling in his throat and he began coughing violently. 

He gulped in air greedily between every cough. His throat felt like it was filling with a mucus like liquid again but he couldn't stop it. He had already been crying and and now he was sobbing, soaking his cheeks in warm liquid. When his mom attempted to make contact with him he pushed her away before coughing up a glob of phlegm, spit and a little blood.

He heaved for breath and leaned back slowly uncurling. The pillow felt cold on his neck and it comforted him. When he opened his eyes again his mother was staring in semi shock. 

"I'm... Going to go... You need rest!" She stood up pulling her purse up to her chest. 

"Get me a nurse or something!" The boy wheezed out. His mother left without a response. A nurse did come in soon after. Beatrice was back. 

"You're mom said you coughed something up?" She stated with slight worry. Max pointed to the slobbery mass in his lap that surely was soaking his legs. She grimaced and sighed. "Weird..." She half whispered, as she left to go get something. Max wiped his eyes and sniffled staring at the ceiling. 

When she came back she cleaned it up and put a new blanket over the kid. He got a peek at his legs and it was weird. They looked pale and weak. He looked at them with a puzzled expression before they were covered by a new sheet. 

"Paralysis," Beatrice stated. Max cocked an eye brow at her. 

"That's why you can't move them. The doc said it's likely to be temporary," she stated matter-a-factly. A small fond smile crept onto his lips. 

"Thanks..." He rasped quietly. 

"I thought you should know," she started walking out. He didn't attempt to stop her but the second she left the room felt cold again. He sighed and got comfortable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that? Good? Tell me in the comments! 
> 
> As I said I'm planning to possibly have one more chapter out soon but I have no idea. And that the next chapter will be more story than a detailed moment in time. 
> 
> I didn't get this edited so... My apologies for any errors and a huge thank you to the people who have been following this and commenting! You guys bring me quite a bit of joy! 
> 
> Have a good evening.


	8. Hiatus

So uhmmmmmm. Guess who just got over the damn flu? Meeeeeeeeee and gosh did that suck. 

Now on to business... I lost quite a bit of direction with this fic? I thought I knew what I was doing but it fell flat and I've tried to write chapter 8 three times now? Every time Max seemed extremely out of character and just... Nothing felt good. So I'm gonna put this on hiatus until I get more motivation and better ideas. 

I think I'm alot better at writing small scenes instead of big stories? So I think I'm gonna open up a camp camp request thing so I can write more of those little scenes. I don't want this to die but I have no idea what to do with it :/ 

Ugghhhh 

Thanks for all your support and stuff it really means alot! And I apologise for not having a real chapter out. 

 

This is a mess, my brain is a mess. 

Thanks for sticking with me!


	9. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max gets some news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back! Well... I wouldn't say "back" but I wrote another chapter in a fit of... Inspiration? And well here it is! Thank you guys for sticking with me and thank you to all the people who are just now starting to read my work! It really means a lot and thank you all for your feedback and such, its been a great motivator. 
> 
> I have some ideas for the next chapter, I don't know when I'm going to write it BUT HOPEFULLY THAT WILL BE SOON! 
> 
> Anyway onto what you guys really want ;) sorry if its a bit short!

Time was felt only in burst of energy for who knows how long. Max stared at the ceiling, and the mental clock he had seemingly developed ticked and predicted his next lot of hospital slop to come in about ten minutes. He let out a sigh with the whole of his chest. The muscles in his back ached; he was used to a lot more moving about but even the concept seemed far fetched. 

He stretched his stiff arms up and rubbed his eyes. In his silence he questioned why he was in here so long... Why he hadn't seen his parents or family in a long period of time. He could only assume hospital stays cost a plentiful amount so he asked himself why he hadn't been hauled back yet. He also wondered why Beatrice hadn't shown her face in a while either, he kinda missed her in a way.

Last he heard about the outside world was simply from a nurse saying it rained that day. Max felt himself twitch, and the urge to just, flail and move around, and before he knew it he was nearly tearing the covers of him and in a blur did a sort of stiff flail with his arms until his shoulder popped. He rigidly moved his fists to his eyes and every muscle in the top of his body felt constricted and he wanted to scream. The blank room was damn near maddening and he could hardly take it anymore. It was ALWAYS quiet. Nothing ever happened. And he was left with only the company of his thoughts. He felt like bulletproof glass one blow from shattering into millions of pieces. 

The pained breaths he let out halted promptly as the door to his room opened. He looked up to see a doctor as opposed to a nurse. Max tilted his head, cringing when his neck popped a little. The doctor smiled in the way adults always do to reassure young children. 

"Hello Maxwell-" the doctor closed the door gingerly. 

"Its just Max," the boy corrected, his voice horse from lack of use. The doctor just chuckled gently and approached him. 

"Well 'just Max' I wanted to talk about what comes next," the doctor chuckled briefly before taking on a more serious, but still fairly light, voice. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max inquired with yet another head tilt. Something felt good about his hair gently shifting to one side.

"Well your brother went home last week and after a few tests the nurses and I-" a sort of calmness filled the doc's voice. 

"Wait! Wait one second!" Max interrupted, "He was let out? He's better?!" Fury built up in the ten-year-old's chest, no one had told him. The doctor looked puzzled. 

"You mean your parents didn't tell you?" The doctor cocked an eyebrow. Max shook his head, a look of baffled anger on his face. "Your bother came out of his coma last week, he is in overall amazing health for what he endured." Max's jaw fell slack. A part of him seemed to wilt, his brother had been there for him through everything and what the professional in front of him said that Michael hadn't come to see him at all. Even in apparently perfect health. Max gulped and nodded. 

"Noted," he looked around and tried not to think to hard on it, "so... Uhm... Back to why you came here, I don't want to waste your time..." 

"Yes! After a few tests the nurses and I think you're about ready to go home yourself!" The doctor seemed excited, trying to rile the boy before her. Max pouted and exhaled. The doctor frowned but tried again to lighten up with a smile. "All we need to do is clean you up and find the proper equipment to help you move about then you can go home! Doesn't that sound great?!" 

"Yeah..." Max deadpanned, half there. 

"Do you want to get started?" With grin, the doctor lifted Max's chin. Max sighed. 

"Yeah sure," Unenthusiastically Max replied. The doctor smiled. 

"Your so strong," she pinched his cheek before starting to walk out, "I'll be right back!" Max watched as she left and deflated as she left. Something felt empty in his chest, a sort of hopelessness. He should feel excited his brothers okay, but he felt like something was wrong, something was off.

The next half an hour was quick, a blurr of explaining how his life might be after he's out, how to deal with that, and then being washed with a washcloth rather humiliatingly. Then the flurry was over, and he was then told his parents would pick him up tomorrow. Then he was alone. He was all alone to think again, and he couldn't stop thinking about his brother and why he hadn't come. 

He came to a conclusion, his philosophy of not expecting to be cared about did not exclude his brother, despite how much he had thought otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for all of your feedback, from simple "I can't wait to see more!"'s to the long thought out comments and advice! Everything means a lot! So thank you! 
> 
> And fair warning: we get to see some familiar faces next chapter if everything goes to plan ;) 
> 
> (I'm not going to delete my hiatus chapter but I'm gonna shift it around, updates probably will still be slow.) 
> 
> Have a good day/night, evening or morning! And I hope to see you again soon!


	10. WHAT FIST-I-CUFFS! (or in better terms- an update or something)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... An update because I would feel bad just... Slinking away-

So... Let's cut to the chase- 

This probably won't be updating... For a long time. I have story but- well as of recent I haven't had time to work on it and I've fallen out of most fandoms in recent memory. I've focusing on school in quite a few iterations- working on personal things- it's just been really busy...

Everything is just stressful as all hell and aaaghhhh. 

I seem to have lost interest in my own story aswell- I've stated in the past I'm better with short stories despite how much I like to pretend otherwise. 

I'm not gonna discontinue the fic because I might update it... Someday but for now it's not gonna be updating. 

You guys have been so nice to me and really supportive it's been nice and hey... I might post other stuff if you like my writing.

Thanks for sticking with me and such.

See you next project!


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